Pros:
• Mach II baskets still catch well
• Plays a loop, and despite sub-par tees/signage the course flows pretty intuitively. Once you've played it once you know it.
• I pulled out both backhands and forehands, as well as a couple overhead shots a couple times. There is a variety of hole distances, though they're all on the short side. Sometimes super short. Like 70-80' short.
• If you can catch it on a day that you have the course to yourself, it's a fun little round, especially if you live in an area where courses are thin on the ground.
• It's the last 18 hole course heading north from the Bangor area until you get to Northern Aroostook county or well into Canada.
Cons:
- The tee situation is sad. Some are just grass, the tees at some of the wooded holes are literally standstill-only due to roots and such. (It's an elementary school course though so I could really care less about this.). Signage is next to nothing. The little flags are helpful but can be hard to see/find.
- No amenities to speak of, tee-side or otherwise. (Again, it's a school course).
- Much of the course is on the short side.
Really any con I can think of feels nit-picky when you consider where it is. Would I expect a 70 or 80' hole on a Houck-designed course? Hell no. Am I glad the course is suited to the age-group? Totally.
Other Thoughts:
I had a quarantine-be-damned reason to travel an hour this weekend to Enfield. Right before leaving I checked the course map and it turned out I was going to be a ten minute drive from the only course within a half hour of the area. I'd seen it on the site before but its 1.5 rating and location over an hour away (and at a school no less) told me I'd probably never play it. However, presented with this opportunity I decided to check it out. If it went well, I figured I could at least update some things and give it its first review in a few years. Turns out the entire campus was empty, and I had the place to myself, which wasn't a huge surprise.
On arrival I didn't see any of the reflector markers mentioned in the course description but there were loads of little surveyor flags. I resolved to play some safari golf for a while. As it turns out the second set of flags I played from had a number on them, and I ended up playing the whole course more or less in order. The course starts on the west side of the campus (your right side as you're driving in). The first 6 holes are field shots, then you head into the woods for a few holes. 11-12 skirt the woods but aren't really in them. 13 and 14 take you back in. 15-18 are back in the open. It plays in a counterclockwise direction around the school, ending on the northside along the driveway.
My 2.0 rating is reflective of my round there during a time when most people are staying at home quarantining. If school was in session and things were business-as-usual, I'd probably err on the side of 1.5. Discobedience's review from 9 years ago, while short, is accurate. It's not going to knock your socks off, but there are some cool holes here, especially in the woods - 9 & 14 specifically come to mind as being just as good as any other course.
If I lived in the area, I'd probably play it often but solely due to lack of options. I think it's a great little course for introducing kids to the sport though. Some long holes let them air it out, and some attainable ace runs for small arms (70-80' holes). It's also worth the stop for baggers IMO, if you know there's not going to be anything going on that might interfere, and you're already passing through. It was a fun round, but a part of that fun definitely came from knowing I wouldn't run into anybody and having the place to myself.